Skeeter's Saturday Intrusion
by Lorraine Kimball
Summary: Rita Skeeter publishes a new article that rubs some members of the Potter-Weasley clan the wrong way.
1. At Harry's

**Chapter One: At Harry's**

A middle-aged red-haired man suddenly appeared at the end of the drive of a nice but understated house located in Whimple, England. He shoved a newspaper into the back pocket of his jeans and pushed the long tendrils that had escaped his ponytail out of his face. He turned towards the house and made his way purposefully down the driveway to the front door.

Harry and Ginny Potter were engaging in a rare post-coital cuddle before their young children woke and burst unannounced into their bedroom. Harry walked his fingertips up his wife's arm towards her shoulder. She was covered in more freckles every year they were together. Her muscles had softened since the had retired from Quidditch, but her arms were still thin. "You are so beautiful," Harry whispered as he breathily kissed her in the space between her neck and shoulder. "I'm happy you're home," he breathed.

Ginny laughed gently. "I'll have to convince my editor to send me away on assignments more often if this is the reception I receive when I come home." She shifted in the bed so that she was lying on her back. She stretched her arms around Harry's shoulders and pulled him back down on top of her. "Do you have it in you for a second round before the kids wake up? We probably have about a half hour until Albus wants to check up on that bloody crup." Ginny's eyes glinted with the challenge as she wiggled suggestively under Harry.

"Hagrid didn't mean anything by giving it to him. We're lucky he didn't bring a blast-ended skrewt to dinner. And remember, as far as I know, that is a dog with a strange genetic defect making its tail slightly off. It is _not_ an unregistered crup," Harry said in defense of his giant friend. Harry reflected on a dinner from a few months ago when Hagrid had arrived with a young dog tucked under his coat. Albus instantly lit up upon seeing the creature. Harry, although knowing that Ginny would balk at the gift, did not suspect anything suspicious until he noticed that the puppy had an oddly forked tail.

"Harry, please focus. You're running out the clock," Ginny said as she ran her finger down Harry's shoulders to tap emphatically on the place where his watch would normally sit. Harry leaned down towards Ginny and closed the space in between them with a kiss.

The pair wrongly assumed that they would remain uninterrupted due to the earliness of the hour. While the children were still sleeping off their jet-lag from the previous weekend, a loud knock seemed to magically reverberate throughout the house. Harry froze atop Ginny.

Without thinking, she quickly rubbed her hand up and down his back to calm him down. "It has to be family. They're the only ones who could get past the Fidelius here," she said hurriedly in a calming tone. As Harry calmed, Ginny became agitated. She rolled out from underneath Harry and slid to an upright position on the edge of the bed. "Although whoever it is might not be family for long after this interruption. So help me Merlin if it is Ron again. I mean honestly, do they have any idea what hour it is?" She angrily shoved her feet into her slippers and swung her bathrobe over her shoulders. She hastily tied the belt.

"Erm, Gin-" Harry started. She rounded on him with a fiery expression. Harry gestured to his chest indicating that she needed to readjust the top of her robe.

She huffed as she pulled the fabric to cover herself, then she stormed out of the bedroom. Harry slowly sat up and ran a hand through his messy hair. He searched for his discarded pajama pants and cotton shirt from the night before and quickly dressed. He wrapped himself in his own bathrobe and shoved his feet into his slippers. He looked longingly at their bed as he left the bedroom with a sigh.

"Daddy, who's at the door?" A six year old Lily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she stood in the doorway of her bedroom.

"No one you need to worry about sweetie. Mummy and daddy will take care of it. You go back to sleep," Harry said as pulled his daughter against his hip for a quick hug.

"But I'm already awake," Lily pouted. Harry pulled away from her and looked at her eyes that were so like Ginny's. Stubbornness exuded from every feature, and Harry knew he would not be able to coax her back to sleep.

Harry sighed. He kneeled down to her level. "You can stay in your room and play with your dolls until mummy and daddy call you down for breakfast. Just don't tell mummy," he said with a wink.

"Okay," Lily replied joyfully. She turned away from her father and closed the door behind her as she went back into her room.

Harry turned to head downstairs. Now that he focused on it, he could hear strained whispers coming from the foyer.

"Bill, it is eight in the morning on a Saturday. What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" Ginny demanded.

"Have you seen last Tuesday's _Prophet_?" Bill asked.

"I haven't" Ginny huffed. "I don't normally make a habit of looking at old newspapers at _eight in the bloody morning on a Saturday_ , especially when I have a chance to be alone with my husband for the first time in weeks," Ginny said pointedly.

Bill regarded his sister's hastily clad appearance. He looked simultaneously sheepish and uncomfortable. "I'm here to speak with Harry anyways," he said after a pause. At the sound of his own name, Harry entered the foyer. Bill reached into his back pocket and took out the offending copy of the _Prophet_. The newspaper was folded open to an article. Bill held it so that his sister and brother-in-law could see the page. Ginny quickly read the headline aloud: "'Dumbledore's Army Reunites at Quidditch World Cup.'" She snorted rudely when she read the byline. "'By the _Daily Prophet's_ Gossip Correspondent, RIta Skeeter.' Bill if you got me out of bed for _that woman_ , you have five minutes to get out of my house before I hex you back to yours." GInny crossed her arms over her chest which caused her bathrobe to once again shift to a less-than-suitable level of concealment.

Bill looked bast his glaring sister. "Harry,can we talk?" Bill pleaded.

Harry sighed and ran his hand nervously through his hair. "Sure," he said. "Gin, could put the pot on for some tea?"

"Take care of yourselves. I'm going back upstairs and will be doing the same," Ginny growled as she spun and stomped up the stairs cursing under her breath about lack of boundaries and the need for a new Fidelius Charm. Harry's eyes followed his wife up the stairs longingly.

"Sorry about that mate. I'm sure I'll get it next time we're at the Burrow," Bill sighed as he followed Harry into the kitchen.

"It's fine. She'll be over it by the time she has some tea," Harry said as he sat at the kitchen table with his brother-in-law and began sending the items for tea zooming around the kitchen with a flick of his wand. "Let me see it," Harry said as he extended his hand across the table. Bill slid the paper to Harry. He watched Harry read as he absentmindedly dipped the tea bag in and out of the hot water.

"I don't see what the problem is, Bill. It certainly isn't the worst thing Skeeter has ever written about us. Although the bit about Lorcan and Lysander is certainly uncalled for. They're barely a year old. Skeeter can count her lucky stars that I don't think Luna has ever picked up a copy of the _Prophet_ in her life."

"You really don't take issue with the fact that she portrays my daughter - your niece - to be a harlot?" Bill asked accusingly as he took a sip of his tea.

"Sure, but also according to this Ginny - your sister - is supposedly engaging in spousal abuse," Harry countered as he took a sip of his own tea. "You need to take these things with a grain of salt, Bill."

Bill pulled the offending paper over to him and began reading aloud from the second to last paragraph. "'Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Bill Weasley might like to know that their beautiful, blonde daughter Victoire seems to be attracted to any dark corner where Master Lupin happens to be lurking. The good news is both of them seem to have invented a method of breathing through their ears. I can think of no other reason how they have survived such prolonged periods of what, in my young day, was called 'snogging.''" Bill silently put the paper back down.

Harry winced. "I'll agree with you, it's not the best thing that's ever been said about Vic and Teddy. But Skeeter has said loads worse about all of us."

"That's the problem, Harry. It's fine when she talks about me or you, or my sister for that matter. We're adults, we can handle it. This is my fourteen-year old daughter we're talking about. I'll like to see how you respond when Skeeter is sexualizing Lily when she's still three years away from finishing Hogwarts." Bill angrily tossed the paper aside.

Harry felt sick at the thought of Lily being discussed in the papers in any manner. His sons earned their bit of coverage about misbehaving honestly, but Skeeter had no right prying into the timid explorations of teenagers. "I'll talk to Ginny. She can probably use her connections to make sure the kids are off limits in the _Prophet_. I'm sure that'll make the coverage on us worse, though." Harry started to drum his fingers on the table as he brainstormed a solution while dreading the retaliatory articles Skeeter would write.

"We've made harder sacrifices for them," Bill said in a restrained tone. He looked thoughtfully at the article. "I'd appreciate Ginny reaching out," he said after a moment.

"Bill, you could have asked Ginny yourself. In fact, I'm sure it would have been a more meaningful ask coming from you," Harry mused as he looked at Bill. The older man refused to make eye contact as he continued to stare at the offending article. "What else did you want to talk about?" Harry asked after several silent beats had passed.

"Do you know if they're together?" Bill blurted out.

"Who? Vic and Teddy?" Harry asked.

"Fleur says they are are. She says Vic hasn't told her yet, but she says this is something a mother 'just knows.' They were quite — well 'smitten' is too weak a word and 'intimate' is too strong a word —"

"Glued to the hip?" Harry supplied.

"Yes, thank you. They were glued to the hip at the World Cup," Bill took a long sip of his tea after he finished talking.

"I don't know if they're together. I hardly ever see Teddy alone anymore. James follows him around like a lost puppy. But Teddy hasn't hinted at anything going on between them. Why don't you ask Vic? I'm sure she'd come clean." Harry took a contemplative sip of his own tea.

Bill winced at Harry's suggestion. "I can't ask her. I mean, obviously, I _can_ ask her, I'm just not _ready_ to ask her. In my mind she is still eight years old, and I can make her day by taking her up on the broom with me. I'm not ready for fourteen, I'm not ready for dating drama," Bill constantly twisted his mug against the table.

Harry tried to read his face, but there were so many emotions appearing there. Harry could recognize some of the fatherly concern that flitted across Bill's face, but he also knew that there was something there that he had not yet experienced and therefore could not glean. Harry's voice softened. "I would tend to agree with Fleur. If they're not together yet, then they're heading in that direction." Harry pushed the newspaper to the far corner of the kitchen table. "But I don't think you need a shit article to point that out to you. And I don't think you're here to discuss Skeeter's disgraceful ethical boundaries." Harry said.

Bill was silent as he continued to twist his cup in his hands. "Have you had the talk with Teddy?" Bill blurted suddenly.

"The talk?" Harry asked with complete ignorance. Bill looked at Harry with a pointed and pleading look.

"The sex talk?" Harry clarified, his voice rising nearly an octave. "Blimey Bill, Vic's barely fourteen! They're not having sex." Harry said definitively. But at the look on Bill's face, his confidence on the matter wavered.

"Teddy's just turned sixteen" Bill said miserably. "How old were you?" he asked accusingly.

Without thinking, Harry's eyes rolled towards the direction of his bedroom where Ginny was. Bill tactfully ignored Harry's gesture. "Bloody hell, why do I have to do it?" Harry changed the subject with indignation. "It's not like Vernon Dursley every sat me down and talked the birds and the bees," Harry grumbled sounding momentarily much younger than his thirty-three years.

"And that's why James was born weighing over a half stone six months after the wedding. No offense to Ginny, but I don't want a repeat of that for Vic," Bill mumbled.

Harry ignored the slight. "What about Andromeda. She has custody of Teddy and he lives with her," Harry argued back defensively.

"Well mate, you were sixteen years old once. How closely would you pay attention if your sixty-year old grandmother was telling you the exact right moments to perform the right contraceptive charm?"

"Dunno, I didn't have a grandmother, did I?" Harry said crossly.

"Don't play the orphan-card with me," Bill laughed. "You're the godfather. This is squarely in godfather territory. Think of it as practice for James and Albus."

Harry thought he might be sick at the turn of this conversation. "Yeah, good logic. I'll be sure to remind Charlie of his godfatherly duties," Harry fired back after a moment.

"That's different."

"How?" Harry challenged.

"Bill shrugged his shoulders. "Fleur and I are alive," he said lamely.

There was a moment of silence. "I didn't really think about them dying when I agreed to be his godfather," Harry said quietly.

"Given that you were seventeen years old and had just escaped Voldemort with several captives in tow, and you had never even held a baby before, I don't think you fully considered Remus's request with the gravitas it deserved. And I'm sorry, of course you didn't expect them to die. But this is where we are, and you're stalling. You need to talk to Teddy, and preferably sooner rather than later." Bill's voice turned serious.

"Where do I talk to him," Harry asked, defeated.

"Take him out to dinner alone."

"He'll be suspicious."

"Pretend it's for your birthday. Invite him to dinner here. But suddenly, Ginny and the kids have a prior engagement they forgot about," Bill said with a shrug.

"Bloody wonderful birthday present," Harry mumbled.

"Yeah, it is. If he treats my daughter right, then your godson's bollocks stay where they are supposed to be" Bill said.

Harry could not make himself laugh a Bill's joke. "Ugh," he groaned. "Do you have any advice?"

"Only don't do what dad did. He of course went on a muggle tangent which had me thinking about whichever poor muggle he had asked. On second thought, I was dad's first go around and he had six chances. So you may want to ask him. But other than that, I don't have any advice. I don't have to worry about it for six more years." Bill leaned back in his chair extending his long legs and crossing his arms.

"You all of a sudden seem quite cool, calm, and collected about this whole thing," Harry said accusingly.

Bill blinked at Harry and sat up straight. "I'm not really, but I don't have any power over the situation. They either are dating or they start dating or they don't do anything. The goal is to raise them so they can make their own decisions. Sometimes they'll be wrong and sometimes they'll be right. But it's our responsibility to give them all the tools so they know how to make the right ones. Which is why you need to talk to Teddy and stress the value of abstinence as a viable option. And you probably want to mention that I break curses for a living, which means that I know how to cast some pretty gnarly ones."

"Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that," Harry said sarcastically. He drained his cup of tea and looked out the kitchen window before turning back to Bill. "Are we good? I'll talk to Ginny about the Skeeter thing and I'll talk to Teddy—"

"Sooner rather than later," Bill interrupted.

"Yes, sooner rather than later," Harry agreed.

"Then we're good," Bill said as he clapped his hands together and pushed himself away from the table. "We'll see you and Ginny and the kids at mum's on the twenty-eighth for your birthday, right? They're dying to hear how the Cup went and how everyone from the DA is doing."

"Yup, we'll be there."

"Well I'll let you get back to my sister. Sorry for interrupting your morning," Bill said with an uncharacteristically sheepish expression.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Harry grumbled as he punched Bill in the shoulder. "I'm the one that has to deal with an angry-Ginny for the rest of the day because you made her mad this morning."

"I'm just amazed you manage to stay in bed past eight at all with three kids. Fleur and I haven't slept past seven since Dominique was born."

"Whatever," Harry grumbled. "Go home Bill. I'll see you later."

"Sounds good. And thank you, Harry," Bill said sincerely as he walked through the door that Harry held open and made his way to the end of the drive so he could apparate home.

Harry closed the door behind his brother-in-law. He turned towards the stairs and slowly walked up to his bedroom.

"Has Bill left, then?" Ginny asked when Harry entered the room. She had a book in her lap.

"Yup," Harry said.

"What did he want?"

"You to reach out to your contacts at the _Prophet_ to make Skeeter stop writing about the kids."

"And what else?" Ginny pried sagely.

"Nothing," Harry lied.

"Bollocks. You were downstairs for an hour. And if that's all he wanted, that's not enough of an excuse for me to not to hex him the next time I see him. It's been a while since I've had a reason to cast a good bat-bogey for old-time's sake," Ginny thought aloud.

"He's worried about Vic and Teddy," Harry confessed automatically.

"What is with my brothers. Why can't they just let the girls in their lives date and not act like over-protective nutters. I mean really. When I was dating Dean —" Ginny started to rant.

Harry interrupted her. "No, it's not that. He wants me to have the sex talk with Teddy," Harry said morosely.

Ginny regarded Harry and burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," Harry countered.

"I'm sorry, but is Bill serious?"

"Yes, he sounded very serious."

"Teddy hasn't even realized that Vic likes him yet!" Ginny exclaimed as she folded her legs and sat on her knees eagerly.

"Then why is Skeeter writing about the two of them kissing at the World Cup?" Harry countered.

Taken aback, Ginny looked at Harry with a thoughtful expression. "It's Skeeter, she could be lying."

"Or, beetle Skeeter could have seen something that Vic and Teddy didn't want any of adults to see," Harry countered as he sat next to Ginny on the bed and rubbed his knees.

Ginny thought about this for a moment. "Well, good for them. They make an adorable pair, don't you think?"

Harry absently responded, "Yeah, sure."

"But if they are in a relationship, then you definitely need to talk to Teddy."

"Yeah, I know, Gin," Harry responded shortly.

"Don't get cross with me. I'm only trying to help." She sat back and glared at him. She swung her feet around the edge of the bed and moved to sit next to Harry.

"You can help by taking the kids out to dinner next Thursday. Then Teddy and I can have the place to ourselves while we talk," Harry said glumly as he stood up and shrugged out of his bathrobe.

"I can't do Thursday, I have a deadline for the post-World Cup analysis. And I know I'll be waiting on Krum's quote until the last minute. I can do Wednesday," Ginny said as she stood and walked over to her dressing table which held her small leather clad planner.

"That should work. I can get Kingsley to cover for me at the post-cup ICW Security Warlock debrief," he sighed as he ran his hands through his hair nervously.

Ginny moved back over to Harry and sat next to him. She ran her hand supportively up and down his back. "Don't worry about it Harry, it's not too bad. Anyways, as a source with first-hand knowledge, you know what you're doing regarding the matter," Ginny moved her hand to the back of Harry's head and pulled him towards her for a kiss.

"Ginny, the kids will be up in a minute. Lily's already awake," Harry replied huskily.

"I may or may not have put a locking charm on their bedrooms," Ginny whispered breathily against his lips. "Plus, there are a limited number of days for you to get in enough research for your talk with Teddy," Ginny laughed. She kissed Harry deeply.

"Ah yes, research," Harry said as he twisted his hand in Ginny's long hair and laid back on the bed.

"Mum! I can't open my door!" Albus screamed from his bedroom next door.

Ginny sighed against Harry. "Harry Potter, you better stress the use of contraception _very strongly_ to young Teddy," she grumbled as she slipped back in her robe and moved towards the door. Harry watched her leave the bedroom.

He smiled to himself. He could not help feeling happy for Teddy: he was incredibly lucky to have snagged a Weasley girl.


	2. At Ron and Hermione's

**Chapter Two: At Ron and Hermione's**

Harry Potter popped into existence in front of a large terraced home on the outskirts of London. He was confident that no muggles would see him appear due to the early morning hour. He strode towards the front door and once there started knocking rapidly. He shoved a copy of _The Prophet_ into the back pocket of his trousers. There was no answer, so he knocked again. "I know you're in there," he thundered against the door.

"Bloody hell, you're going to wake the kids," Ron grumbled as he finally swung open the front door. "Are you bloody drunk?" Ron demanded angrily. But after taking one look at Harry's face, Ron's demeanour changed. "Is everything okay? Did something happen to Ginny? The kids?" Ron rained questions on Harry as he ushered him over the threshold.

"No, no. They're all fine," Harry responded and pushed Ron's concern away with a gesture of his hand.

Hermione swept rapidly down the stairs. She was pinning her hair back with a clip. She had hastily thrown her robe over her pinstriped pajama set. "Harry, why are you here so early? Is everything alright? Is it Ginny, the kids?" Hermione asked in a panic mimicking that of her husband.

"No, apparently everything is okay at the Potters. It just seems that Harry here has lost his bloody mind," Ron grumbled as he calmed Hermione.

"Is it something with the Aurors, do we need to go in?" Hermione asked Harry, ignoring Ron.

"No, it's worse," Harry mumbled. The couple looked at Harry's bleak expression. Concern flooded Hermione's features. She wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and ushered him into the kitchen. Ron followed behind Harry, stretching while he yawned. Hermione steered Harry towards a chair at the small kitchen table set for four. She began filling the kettle with water from the sink as she tried to light the stove with her other hand. With a lazy flick of his wand, Ron lit the stove and sent the filled kettle flying out of Hermione's hands towards the burner. Mugs began to zoom around the kitchen and land on the table while the sugar bowl flew out of the cupboard.

"I must've told her a thousand times she's a witch in the kitchen as well as everywhere else," Ron said to Harry. Hermione sat down at the table next to Harry while she watched the kettle cautiously.

"Harry," Hermione starts gently, "what's worse that something happening to Ginny and the kids or something happening at work?"

Silently, Harry reached into the back pocket of his trousers and laid _The Daily Prophet_ out on the table. "Skeeter's done it again," he mumbled morosely.

Hermione looked at paper as if it were poisonous, but Ron laughed and reached for. "I don't understand why you two let her get to you. Why just the other week, she said that my hair is thinning, but we all know that's preposterous," he said as he rubbed his crown confidently.

Hermione pulled the paper out of Ron's hands. "But Harry, this isn't supposed to come out until tomorrow. It's dated for Sunday the twenty-second. I'm sure if it's completely false you can reach out to the editors and prevent them from sending it to print."

"It's not false," Harry said miserably as he reached for the sugar bowl. Hermione looked at him in shock, but Ron was preoccupied.

"Why do you have an advance copy?" Ron asked, ignoring Harry.

"Kingsley asked me to confirm some quotes for the front-page piece on those thirteen-year olds that thought it would be funny to conjure the Dark Mark over their neighbor's house. And then I wanted to read Ginny's opinion piece on Bulgaria's chances with Krum retiring, and that's when I found it." Harry took a careful sip of his tea as he sagely ignored Ron's sound of distaste at Krum's name.

Hermione snatched the paper back from Ron and began to read aloud. Harry groaned when she started. She looked at Harry apologetically and instead laid the paper in between her and Ron so the two could read silently.

 **HARRY POTTER AS A GODFATHER: AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOW THE HERO OF OUR WORLD GUIDES THE NEXT GENERATION**

 _By the_ Daily Prophet's _Gossip Correspondent Rita Skeeter_

The circle of life continues for savior of our world, Harry Potter. Godfather to fellow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named orphan and hair-colour changing rake Teddy Lupin, Potter has now been faced with the task of guiding his young charge through his adolescence.

We have witnessed Potter through many stages of his life. My more mature readers will remember how we discussed him as an infant. We wondered what his incredible magical skills were that allowed him to survive the killing curse. As a young student, we saw him go through trauma and heartbreak, often at the hands of fellow Dumbledore's Army and Order of the Phoenix veteran Hermione Granger. We collectively questioned his sanity, but then we learned he was telling the tragic truth regarding the return of the Dark Lord whom Potter would ultimately defeat. More recently, we've seen him become a partner to former Quidditch star Ginny Weasley. We've also watched him move through the ranks of the Auror Department and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. But we have yet to see a glimpse of Harry Potter as a parent due to the Potter's tendency to keep their children out of the public. Yet readers, after my exclusive article here, you may see that Potter is not so much the parent who hides his children from the public eye, but rather Mrs Ginny Potter is so discontent with his parenting abilities that she prevents him from taking charge.

I found myself on a quiet Wednesday evening at the Leaky Cauldron. To provide you such tantalizing information, the likes of which you will see in my upcoming book _Dumbledore's Army: The Dark Side of the Demob_ , I must frequent these establishments to meet with my sources. Much to my surprise, Harry Potter walked in with the young rogue Teddy Lupin. Messrs. Potter and Lupin took a seat towards the back of the establishment, but this was no protection against my Quick-Quotes Quill, of course. The pair ordered and engaged in what may only be considered, a conversation ill-suited for many of my young readers. Parents, you have been warned.

In the dark corner of the Leaky Cauldron, Potter launched into what can best be described as an introduction to the more physical aspects of romance. Now, I found his explanation lacking in some ways, but because this is a reputable newspaper and not a more sordid publication, I will not go into further details. What I want you to take away readers is that Potter is certainly well versed enough to guide the young Lupin through the subject.

After the wandwork discussion, Potter willingly described hidden locations throughout Hogwarts where a young pair can steal away for some unsavory extracurriculars. It makes one shudder to imagine what Potter got away with under the noses of his professors. We must also never forget that the Boy Who Lived was raised by muggles, so he obviously had very different opinions regarding the acceptability of snogging in Hogwarts corridors. No wonder his teen romance with Hermione Granger was so fraught with drama!

The conversation between godfather and godson continued well into the night (much later than any sixteen year old should be out at a pub, if you ask me). Potter continued to offer romantic advice to the young man. As I uncovered a few weeks ago in my coverage of a Dumbledore's Army reunion at the Quidditch World Cup, there is no doubt with whom the young Teddy Lupin will put this newly acquiesced knowledge to the test (that is unless he takes after his his godfather's famous friend Hermione Granger who entertained several young flames at once). The unlucky recipient of young Lupin's bumbling affections is none other than Harry Potter's own niece, Victoire Weasley of Order of the Phoenix members Bill and Fleur Weasley!

Perhaps Harry Potter has grown restless with his position as Head of the Auror Department and is now seeking a career as a love coach to his family's youngest members. One can only wonder at the motivation for such a public conversation. But to learn more about Harry Potter's journey to parenthood, read all about it in my new book coming out next month, _Dumbledore's Army: The Dark Side of the Demob._

Ron could barely contain his laughter after he finished reading the article.

"Ron," Hermione scolded. "Can't you see this has upset Harry a great deal."

"Of course," Ron said between laughs. "But he's brought it upon himself. I mean bloody hell, Harry, why are you talking to Teddy about this in a public place. You have two houses, mate, plenty of places to go." Ron said as he took a sip of tea in an attempt to stifle his laughter.

"Harry, that was my question too. Why did you decide to talk to Teddy about, erm, 'wandwork,'' Hermione asked as she pulled the article back towards her searching for Rita Skeeter's preferred term, "at the Leaky Cauldron where you knew anyone who recognized you would be interested in eavesdropping?"

"I didn't plan on taking him to the Leaky Cauldron. Audrey, Percy, and the girls are staying at the London house while Audrey's mum visits. And Ginny was supposed to take the kids out for dinner. But apparently, James informed Lily that some members of the shepherd's flock end up in shepherd's pie. So Lily assumed that dragon puffs have dragon meat in them. Unfortunately, Uncle Charlie gave a stuffed dragon to Lily for her birthday. And all week at the Cup, Charlie entertained Lily with stories about his favorite new baby dragon. Lily had a meltdown in the restaurant over the dragon puffs Ginny ordered for desert, and she had to come home early. I flooed ahead to Neville, and he said they weren't busy and there wasn't any press in the pub." Harry finished lamely.

"You have a wand, right?" Ron asked. Harry and Hermione glared at Ron. "I'm just saying. You managed to stay hidden from Voldemort for nearly a year, but you couldn't figure out how to have a private moment with your godson in your own home?"

Hermione seemed to consider this for a moment.

"No I couldn't. Because it seems someone gave his godson an unlimited number of extendable ears for his birthday." Harry accused.

Ron's ears turned crimson. "It's what he asked for," Ron defended.

"Ron, you didn't!" Hermione accused. "Did you really not think about what trouble James would get up to with those."

"Of course I did, I just knew it wouldn't be in my house," Ron said with a smirk.

"Yeah, thanks mate," Harry grumbled.

"I still don't understand why you didn't cast _muffliato,_ " Hermione asked gently.

"Yeah!" Ron accused eagerly, glad to not be in more trouble for having gifted extendable ears to James.

"I was nervous, I forgot!" Harry defended. Hermione looked at Harry kindly while Ron erupted into another fit of laughter.

"What were you nervous about? You've faced a lot worse than Teddy asking questions about sex," Ron quipped.

Hermione ignored Ron and patted Harry's hand gently. "But Harry, I gave you the book."

"What book?" Ron demanded.

"Yeah Hermione, I have loads of time to read books. It's not like I have three children and an entire department to run. I'm just sitting in my office, reading for leisure during the day," Harry said sarcastically.

"What book?" Ron demanded again.

"I keep a few parenting books at work," Hermione said quietly as her cheeks started to turn pink.

"Why do you keep _any_ books at work? We have an entire library here," Ron asked Hermione as he looked at her incredulously.

"I keep books I don't necessarily want you to see in my desk at work," Hermione mumbled.

"And why don't you want me to see a parenting book considering that, to my knowledge, I'm the only person you're co-parenting children with at the current moment," Ron glared.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hermione fiercely demanded.

"Oh I don't know. Why don't you tell me. You're the one who's hoarding secret books!" Ron accused.

"Oi, can we focus on the present problem," Harry demanded as Hermione rose from her chair and turned away from Ron to grab the cream from the fridge. "Teddy is going to hate me, he probably won't speak to me for a year." Harry grumbled looking much younger than his thirty-three years.

Hermione turned back from the fridge looking calmer. "He's not going to hate you, Harry. He might be a bit embarrassed, but he could never hate you."

"I agree mate. Teddy adores you, he could never hate you," Ron quickly added. "But I don't know why you had to talk to him anyway. He's only sixteen."

"I was being proactive. Do I need to remind you what you did most of your sixth year?" Harry turned on Ron. "If I recall correctly, you're the one who pointed out to me numerous broom cupboards you found with Lavender."

"Yeah, but Teddy's different," Ron pointed out and he very carefully avoided Hermione's angry gaze.

"Not according to Bill," Harry added as he took a sip of his tea.

"What does Bill have to do with it?" Ron asked immediately.

"He's concerned that Vic and Teddy have grown so close lately," Hermione supplied. Harry nodded in agreement.

"But Victoire is fourteen! Teddy wouldn't — Bill can't possibly think that they're — What is wrong with my brother?" Ron demanded as he stumbled and shook his head as if trying to rid an unpleasant image.

"Ginny was fourteen when your mum had the talk with her," Hermione pointed out while she stirred cream into her tea. Faced with silence she looked up at Ron and Harry. Both stared at her with incredulous looks. "But Ron, you must have been around fourteen when Molly and Arthur started talking to you about this," Hermione said with shock.

"Mum and dad never talked to me. I had five older brothers and there was the little distraction known as Voldemort coming back into power and all," Ron said scathingly. The expression on his face was unreadable, although Harry could swear he had not seen it on Ron's face in decades.

"Well, I was only twelve when my parents started talking to me about sex," Hermione said. Harry and Ron stared at her again with equally shocked looks She paused to take a sip of tea and then defended her parents, "That's not unheard of in the muggle world."

"Moving on," Ron started, "Harry, why were you describing 'hidden locations throughout Hogwarts where a young pair can steal away for some unsavory extracurriculars' to Teddy who apparently has his eyes set on my niece? It seems to me that the purpose of 'the talk' is to prevent kids ending up in these situations," Ron demanded.

"That's not the point of them at all —" Hermione started.

"Teddy asked," Harry interrupted her before Hermione could launch into a lecture.

"And you supplied without thinking about the consequences?" Ron countered.

"Bill is going to kill me," Harry mumbled.

"Probably," Ron shrugged. "But that doesn't answer my question," he pointed out. Harry regretted that Ron had ever been provided interrogation training when he was an auror.

"The book that Hermione gave me told me to be open, honest and direct. And to answer any questions that he might ask." Harry said accusingly.

"You said you didn't read it!" Hermione fired back.

"Well the first page said that, didn't it!" Harry argued.

"And the other pages probably would have provided examples of the types of questions you don't provide a _complete answer_ to. And — I know this Harry because I bothered to _actually read the book_ — the book says you shouldn't answer the question 'Where can I go if I want privacy to engage in sexual acts with my partner where we won't be found by adults?' You aren't supposed to provide directives on how to be dishonest." Hermione justified sharply.

"Why have you already read the bloody chapter on talking about sex with your kids?" Ron demanded.

"Because Rose is eight years old," Hermione shrugged.

"Exactly, she's eight years old. She hasn't even gone off to Hogwarts yet," Ron replied.

"You do recall that Hermione practically started studying for OWLs in her first year," Harry pointed out.

"So?" Ron asked.

"She had four years of preparation. Rose is _eight years old_ ," Harry explained slowly.

Ron looked like he might be sick. "Hermione, I forbid you to talk to Rosie about sex _when she turns twelve_ ," Ron hissed at Hermione.

"Oh, you _forbid me_ , do you?" Hermione countered furiously.

"Oi! This is one of those conversations you have when I'm not here," Harry said quickly. Both Hermione and Ron crossed their arms over their chests and turned away from another. Hermione took a sip of tea and Harry could not help but notice her hands trembling. "I really don't understand how I buggered this so royally," Harry said quietly. He was trying to calm the tension between his friends, but he also desperately needed their reassurance. Harry was normally a confident father. Although he often wished he had had some sort of positive parenting example in his life besides the one that Ginny also based her parenting.

"I don't know how you did it either. Boys are easy. There's only four important parts you have to cover," Ron announced confidently.

"Oh, is there," Hermione said cooly.

"Yes," Ron responded, albeit with a little less confidence than he had before.

"Well, if you're such the expert, why don't you lay it out for us," Harry egged on, desperate to prevent an argument from developing between Ron and Hermione.

Ron cleared his throat and leaned forward to the edge of his chair. "Well, firstly, I'd find a private room in a private location to have the talk with Teddy. And then, I would use my _bloody wand_ to ensure that I had complete privacy. Secondly, I'd given him a bit of firewhiskey and cover the mechanics as casually as possible. Thirdly, I'd tell him that as he gets older, he tends to have more feelings that originate from his downstairs brain, and I would stress that if the girl he's having thoughts about is a Weasley, he needs to continue with caution. And finally, and most importantly, I would tell him that under no circumstances should he attempt to practice a personal barrier charm unless he is completely assured that there will not be any accidental pyrotechnics involved," Ron finished confidently. Harry suddenly realized that he should have come to Ron first instead of allowing himself to get worked up by Hermione's fretting.

"Why the last bit?" Hermione asked. Her anger from earlier had completely dissipated and her curiosity was palpable.

Ron and Harry both winced, but Ron proceeded to speak. "Well, Seamus was supposed to go to Hogsmeade with this seventh year Hufflepuff girl during our sixth year. He proudly announced to all of us that he needed to be prepared. And — well, let's just say he's lucky that Madame Pomfrey was able to fix his bollocks. And they apparently work and he's never mastered the personal barrier charm because he has four kids with that muggle girl and —"

"Daddy, what's a personal barrier charm?" Rose asked suddenly. All the adults jumped. They had not heard Rose as she padded down the stairs and into the kitchen. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Daddy?" Rose asked again. Ron opened and closed his mouth without speaking as he stared at his daughter.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Hermione said as she jumped up and began to usher her daughter out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, mummy will tell you all about it in a couple years," Ron hissed as Hermione left the room. Ron and Harry could hear Hermione explaining to Rose that Uncle Harry and daddy were having a grown up discussion.

Harry looked at Ron. "You 'forbid Hermione?'' Harry teased.

"I wonder what my older brother, the curse breaker, is going to do to you when he reads that you provided Teddy with several location options for where he can deflower his daughter?" Ron countered.

Both men were silent as they took sips of their tea. "So," Ron attempted to sound casual, "how many parenting books does Hermione keep in her office?"

"Loads," Harry answered with a grin. He expected Ron to grin back at him as they shared a joke over Hermione's unrelenting bookish nature. But Ron simply looked contemplatively down the hall towards where his wife and daughter were hidden.

"How mad do you think Bill will actually be?" Harry asked after the silence drug on for too long.

Ron shrugged, still not torn away from his contemplations. "It depends on how mad it makes Fleur." Ron suddenly erupted in laughter. "I honestly can't believe you tried to talk to Teddy in the Leaky Cauldron. You're the most recognizable wizard alive. Did you really think someone wouldn't overhear you?" Ron laughed loudly.

"For being such an calm, cool and collected expert, you have a lot of anxiety when I pointed out that Rose is only four years away from turning twelve," Harry said grumpily.

"I think I finally distracted her," Hermione announced proudly when she entered the kitchen.

"Why did your parents talk to you about sex when you were twelve. What kind of precedent does that set?" Ron angrily demanded of Hermione.

Shocked by his outburst, Hermione started to list facts for Ron. "Finnish children begin sex education in grade school, and they have one of the lowest teenage-pregnancy rates in Europe, Ron," Hermione glared at her husband.

"Oi, did you learn that from one of your _loads_ of secret parenting books?" Ron demanded.

Hermione sent a hurt look towards Harry. He tried to look as sheepish as possible as he stood up and dusted his hands on his trousers. "I should be getting home. I'm sure the kids are awake and bothering Ginny by now. I'll see you two at the Burrow next Saturday, right?" he asked.

"Of course, you will," Hermione said gently.

"I'll be sure to get it framed for your birthday present," Ron said as he pulled the copy of the _Prophet_ closer towards him.

"Stop taking the piss," Harry said grumpily as he pulled the paper out of Ron's hand.

"What does 'taking the piss' mean, Uncle Harry?" Rose asked having once again snuck into the kitchen.

Hermione instantly glared towards Harry. He shot another sheepish look towards her. "It's another grownup phrase that you're not to say," Hermione said to Rose tersely.

"Well, goodbye you two," Harry said cheerily. He pulled Rose in for a hug on his way out. "Bye Rosie, don't ask mummy and daddy too many questions that they can't answer." He patted her red hair and made his way to the door. He let himself out and easily apparated from the front step. Harry certainly was not looking forward to seeing Bill next weekend, but at least he knew he was not the only parent who made mistakes.


	3. At the Burrow

**Chapter Three: At the Burrow**

Mrs. and Mr. Weasley had rented a large marquee tent for the occasion. Magically suspended fairy lights twinkled all around. Many guests had left once the sun had begun to set. Hagrid had long ago passed out in his own magically enlarged chair. His snores could be heard throughout the tent. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had gone to bed after their children had emphatically promised them that they would clean up before they left. A blonde woman with protuberant eyes and her wand tucked behind her left ear kissed a willowy strawberry-blonde teenager on the cheek. The teenager passed the towheaded baby to the woman with the wand. A dark haired older man holding an identical towheaded baby wrapped the teenager in a one-armed hug.

"Bye Harry. Happy birthday!" Luna called as her husband said goodbye to their frequent babysitter.

"Thank you Luna. You four travel safe, Rolf," Harry called back. The dark haired man nodded to Harry as he released Victoire from a hug.

Seeing that she was no longer occupied, a turquoise haired youth made his way over to Victoire. As soon as she saw Teddy, she abruptly left the tent. The remaining adults could see the blush creeping up her cheeks. Teddy, shocked by her quick pace, stopped and watched her walk away with a look of confusion plastered on his face.

A group of a dozen adults was seated at one of the large tables. They all were nursing goblets of elvin wine and remnants of birthday cake laid on plates in front of them. The watched the interactions between Victoire and Teddy with varying degrees of interest. Once Victoire had left the tent and Teddy stood at the entrance, well out of earshot, George Weasley, with his arm slung casually over his wife's shoulders, turned back towards the small party.

"Now normally, I would assume it was Ron who was going around ruining teenage romances, but this time I know it's Harry's fault. Now tell me Harry, are you offering lectures on private broom cupboards to all of us or is it only Teddy who is the beneficiary of such advice?"

"Held that in until after cake, did you George?" Harry asked as he leaned back and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

George grinned evilly.

"You should be grateful, Harry. He's been bursting ever since Sunday." Angelina supplied.

"Small miracles," Harry mumbled.

"George, be nice. Most of the Auror Department has already given Harry a good ribbing. They plastered copies of the article to his desk and they all made a sign," Hermione scolded.

"What did the sign say, Hermione?" George pleaded.

Hermione sent one apologetic look to Harry. "It said 'Romantic Advice Offered Here, On Sickle per Twenty Minutes,'' Hermione said. Once she finished, she immediately covered her mouth failing to hold back a laugh. George roared with laughter and the rest of the table joined in. Harry groaned.

"I still don't understand why you had to have another talk with Teddy. Surely, the topic's already been covered at Hogwarts by now." Audrey asked Harry. Immediately, all the people at the table, excluding Fleur, became rather engrossed in the bottom of their goblets. Audrey rounded on her husband. "Students have already sat through a sexual education seminar before their sixth year, right?" she demanded of Percy.

Percy looked incredibly sheepish as he made eye contact with his wife, but it was Neville who spoke. "Hogwarts doesn't offer a sexual education course," he said nervously.

"Excuse me," Audrey turned on Percy once more. "You assured me that our girls would receive a complete education at Hogwarts, armed with everything they needed to navigate both of our worlds," Audrey hissed at Percy.

"That sort of information is typically left to the discretion of the parents," Percy mumbled dismally.

"And I'm sure wizarding parents are well known for their consistency in disseminating this information?" Audrey said sarcastically as she crossed her arms and leaned away from her husband.

"Well, I can't speak for all wizarding parents, but —" Percy started.

"And what does a child do if they're muggle born," Audrey demanded.

"They apparently start getting lectures at home before they've hit thirteen," Ron mumbled which earned him a slap in the arm from Hermione.

"Hogwarts has an extremely well-stocked library," Hermione supplied, trying to calm Audrey.

"And what wizarding parents lack in consistency, they sure to make up for in attentiveness after the fact," Neville's wife Hannah supplied.

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked, momentarily distracted.

"Well in my training, my healer-in-charge caught a case where a fifteen year old pair, having found their own broom cupboard at the girl's house, ran into a bit of trouble. She — erm — well she panicked, and somehow confused the incantation for _scourgify_ with a permanent sticking charm. The two were stuck together in a compromising position for nearly a week." Hannah offered. Several faces around the table looked a bit green, Audrey looked horrified.

"How were the stuck?" Ron asked and he shoved his last forkful of cake into his mouth.

"Well the poor girl was simultaneously trying to clean him off and herself out so —"

"Perhaps it isn't the best moment for such details, love. I think we have some young eavesdroppers," Neville supplied. He nodded his head to the corner of the tent and the adults' attention was drawn to a long, flesh colored tube.

"James Sirius Potter," Ginny screeched. "I thought I had told you to turn all of them over," she grabbed the end of the flesh colored tube and pulled. Fred, Dominique, and James all attempted to run away, but Ginny was too fast. She grabbed James by the shoulder and escorted him out of the tent. She cast a _muffliato_ charm around the table as she returned. "Sorry," she said to Hannah with a kind smile, her momenty anger having vanished, "please continue."

Hannah, who had just taken a bite of cake, waved her hand nonchalantly.

Audrey looked around the table with a look of horror on her face. "There really isn't any sort of sex ed at Hogwarts." All heads shook. She leaned back in her chair with a look of shock plastered on her face. She took a sip of wine, and then suddenly slammed her goblet down on table. "There really should be! I would have had no idea what to do with the box of rubbers me mum threw on my bed when I was sixteen if I hadn't had the cucumber-banana demonstration in secondary school."

Hermione had unfortunately been taking a rather large sip of wine which, at Audrey's outburst, had gone down the wrong way. She began coughing violently. Percy blushed silently next to Audrey.

"What do muggles do to cucumbers and bananas now?" Ron demanded with concern.

"Muggle contraception," Percy mumbled with palpable embarrassment.

Still looking confused, Ron turned towards Hermione expectantly. "It's sort of like a non-magical form of the personal barrier charm for the male partner," she mumbled as she failed to keep her deepening blush at bay. Ron seemed to contemplate the physics of this newfound knowledge as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well I theenk there should be some sort of sexual education in ze magical schools," Fleur said authoritatively. "Ze number of unwed teenage mothers I work with has tripled since I finished my training." She leaned back in her chair and looked at the rest of the adults expectantly.

George erupted in a fit of laughter. Fleur glared at him. "I'm sorry, Fleur, but now I can't stop imagining Neville leading a — what did you call it Aud — 'cucumbers and bananas demonstration' with a bunch of third years. I can't get that picture out of my mind, no offense Neville."

"None taken," Neville said as he put up his hands as if to ward off doing the presentation. "I can't imagine myself doing that either, and I really don't want to it."

"But of course a professor shouldn't do it. It should obviously be the matron who leads the seminar," Hannah quickly said. Fleur and Audrey readily nodded in agreement while Neville stared incredulously at his wife.

Harry slammed his elbows on the table and put his head in between his hands. He started to rub his temples with his thumbs. "All I wanted to do was to talk to Teddy, and now Hannah is going to receive daily Howlers because she's teaching contraceptive charms to third years."

"No, I probably wouldn't start until fifth year," Hannah thought aloud.

"The books say fifteen and fourteen is way too late!" Hermione supplied automatically

"She's right," Audrey nodded her head in agreement.

"What is wrong with bloody muggles!" Ron said as he slammed his hand on the table.

"Oi!" Percy scolded.

"Maybe, we just don't delude ourselves into thinking that our kids aren't shagging behind our backs and we just want them to be prepared," Audrey said cooly.

"I didn't mean —" Ron started. "I'm married to a muggle-born witch," He defended lamely.

"All I did was talk to Teddy," Harry lamented again having not moved his head from between his hands.

"Cheer up, Harry, it's your birthday," George said jovially. "And Percy and I are going to go get you another drink," George said as he indicated to his older brother to get up and help him. "Anyone else?" George diligently took the drink orders from others at the table.

"I hope there aren't any nosy little bugs here tonight! There's no way I'd be able to keep Skeeter from writing about this," Ginny laughed as she rubbed supportive circles on Harry's back.

Harry groaned morosely without looking up.

As George and Percy left the tent, George turned to his older brother. "I take it your intimately familiar with those muggle rubber contraptions Audrey was talking about," he teased.

Percy stormed ahead of George. "We are never, under any circumstances, going to discuss whether I am or am not familiar with them," he said caustically over his shoulder. George erupted into another bout of laughter.

Elsewhere near the Burrow, Victoire Weasley sat under a tree and watched the fairy lights twinkle in the distance. Her eleven-year old cousin sat next to her. "Okay, explain it to me once again, very slowly. Are you mad at Teddy?" Molly sighed.

"No," Vic replied as she looked down at her hands.

"Alright, so you kissed him at the World Cup —" Molly started.

"No, he kissed me," Vic corrected sharply.

Molly sighed once again. "Debatable, but okay. So you two kissed at the World Cup. And now, you're not talking to him."

"Exactly."

"So, was kissing him horrible?" Molly asked pleadingly.

"No," Vic sighed.

"Was it wonderful?" Molly asked again.

"Not really."

Molly threw her hands up in frustration. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Why don't you just talk to him?"

"Because barely a week after he kissed me, he ran to Uncle Harry and asked him where he could go in Hogwarts to kiss other girls," Vic bemoaned.

"Ah, so you've seen the other article," Molly concluded triumphantly. She had no idea why it had taken Victoire all day to tell Molly how she was feeling.

"James took great delight in showing me that Teddy and I had made the papers yet again," Victoire said glumly.

Molly silently cursed her younger cousin. "But Vic, think about it. Teddy spends time with Uncle Harry, his grandmother, and us. When is he supposedly meeting these other girls who he's going to snog at Hogwarts?"

Stumped, Victoire finally confessed to the truth. "It's not just that. After the article came out, mum and I had the most horrible discussion. Molly, do you know how babies are really ma—"

"Vic, can we talk?" Teddy asked as he suddenly appeared in front of the girls. Vic blushed deeper than she ever had in her whole life.

Molly looked frantically between Teddy and Victoire. "You know, I think I hear Lucy calling me," she said suddenly and with a great deal of awkwardness. She stood and sent an encouraging look towards Vic as she quickly walked away from the pair.

Teddy took Molly's abandoned spot. Victoire tried to think of anything but what she and her mum had discussed last week in a failing attempt to encourage her blush to dissipate.

"You've been awfully quiet since the World Cup," Teddy started.

Vic nodded silently.

"Three weeks ago, I couldn't get you to shut up," he said with a smile. Victoire was fixated on her hands, so she did not see his grin.

"Hey," she said in a hurt tone.

"Kidding," Teddy said with a laugh as he held up his hand defensively. "I finally got you to speak, though" he said in a softer voice.

"Yeah, what a victory," she said sarcastically. She had managed to look him in the eye when he had playfully insulted her. She was even more confused to see that his eyes were the same color blue of hers. "How can you act like nothing happened," she accused without looking at him.

"I'm not," he said defensively. "I was waiting for you to come and talk to me."

"Well, I was waiting to see how I felt," she said with her arms crossed.

"So we were at an impasse," he said as he regarded her closed off form. She did not respond, she simply continued to stare at their outstretched legs. "Erm, are you any closer to figuring out how you feel?" Teddy asked as her silence became uncomfortable.

"I was. And then I learned that the whole bloody world knows all of our business." Vic said angrily. She blinked back tears.

"How do you mean?" Teddy asked.

"Don't play dumb."

"I'm not. What are you talking about?"

" _The Prophet_ articles? We've been the stars of two articles by Rita Skeeter. Don't tell me you haven't seen them."

"Oh, those," Teddy laughed as he swatted away her concerns with a hand. "Those don't matter."

"How can you say that," Vic screeched. She jumped up to her feet. "Every single person who receives _The Prophet_ knows we kissed. They know that Uncle Harry talked to you about —" she looked around to make sure no one else was around "— sex," she hissed. "They probably all think we're having sex."

"So what?" Teddy asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"So what!" Vic repeated. "Are you serious?"

"Vic, let people believe what they want. Only we know what's really going on. And what's really going on is that you and I are friends, first and foremost. We may have kissed a little at the World Cup after we snuck some firewhiskey from our parents. And that's where we are," Teddy finished lamely with another shrug of his shoulders.

"You know, it's so easy for you to say all of that. You'll return to Hogwarts looking like some hero while I look like some everyday slag because people are assuming we're doing more than we've done. I don't know why I even kissed you. You're such a prat!" Vic stormed away from Teddy. Her hair flew behind her in an angry curtain.

Teddy watched her retreating form. Every time he spoke to her lately, he ended up feeling more confused than he had been before. But, he noticed, even though it hurt to see her storm away, he sure did like watching her walk away. Perhaps that was what Harry had meant about feelings you did not even know you had.


End file.
